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NM Lawmakers Kill Gov’s Clean Hydrogen Bill : The New Mexico House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted to table Gov. Michell Lujan Grisham’s (D) proposal to make the state a hub of hydrogen production by offering tax...

FHLB Pushing for Parity with Banks on Insurer Collateral: Officials from the Federal Home Loan Bank have been urging state lawmakers to approve measures putting Home Loan Banks on equal footing with banks when it comes to collateral pledged by insurance...

Autonomous Vehicle Companies Not Waiting Around for Federal Lawmakers: Legislation that would establish a federal framework for autonomous vehicles has stalled in Congress. But autonomous vehicle companies like Tesla, Alphabet’s Waymo and General...

Moody’s Predictions for Healthcare in 2022: Moody’s Investors Service is expecting several trends in healthcare this year, according to a recent report from the credit rating agency. One of Moody’s predictions is that health insurers’...

Let’s be real – nobody actually reads the terms and conditions they agree to when visiting a website. And for good reason. For all of us who are not corporate lawyers – and probably even for many who are – the jargon those terms...

NM Gov Pushes Teacher Pay Hikes Calling her state’s budget surplus “an unimaginable amount of money,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) rolled out an $8.4 billion budget proposal that marks a 13 percent increase over last...

Cities, State Tax Collectors Target Streaming Services: Local and state governments have been requiring cable TV companies to pay sales taxes and other taxes and fees – such as franchise fees for the easements that let them run cable in public...

States Retooling Certificate of Need Laws: Thirty-five states currently have certificate of need, or CON, laws, requiring certain healthcare facilities to obtain approval from the state before expanding their service capacity. But with critics of such...

FL High Court Decision Could Discourage Punitive Damage Claims: The Florida Supreme Court has approved an appellate procedure rule change that, beginning April 1, will allow interlocutory appeals on whether lawsuits can include punitive damage claims...

CA Appeals Court Ruling Could Spur More ‘Take-Home’ COVID-19 Cases: On Dec. 21 the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District gave the go-ahead for a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that poor COVID-19 safety protocols at See’s...

Hospitals Allowing Staff Infected with COVID-19 to Keep Working: Health authorities in California announced last week that nurses and other hospital staff who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic can stay on the job. The state’s Department...

Newsom Urges TX-Style Law on Guns : Saying he is “outraged” at the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a Texas law that bans almost all abortion and allows private citizens to sue to enforce it, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called...

Nursing Home COVID Death Toll Prompting Funding Change in CA: With nearly 9,400 California nursing home residents having died of COVID-19 - roughly 13 percent of the total number of Californians claimed by the virus - the administration of Gov. Gavin...

NYC Planning Sweeping COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced plans last week to require on-site workers at all private businesses in the city to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in an effort to stem the spread of the new...

Facebook Widens Access to VR App: Facebook announced last week that it was opening up its virtual-reality world app, Horizon Worlds, to anyone in the United States and Canada who is 18 years old or older. Previously, users had to be invited to access...

Debate over Pay Parity for Physician ‘Virtual Check-in’ Phone Calls: A four-digit medical billing code added during the pandemic has allowed doctors to be reimbursed for 11- to 20-minute telephone calls with patients, $27 for those covered...

IL Incentivizes Electric Car Manufacturing : Saying he wants to see Illinois “become a leader in the clean transportation revolution,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed ( HB 1769 ), a bill offering a wide range of incentives intended to boost...

FL to Consider New COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Exemptions: Florida lawmakers swiftly enacted legislation loosening COVID-19 workplace vaccination requirements in special session last week. The legislation ( HB 1 b ) provides new exemptions from such mandates...

Biden Administration Rule Spurs Revolt in Congress over Surprise Billing: Last December Congress passed the No Surprises Act, aimed at protecting patients from being billed directly for out-of-network medical care not covered by their insurance. After...

DE Gov Signs Criminal Justice Reform Package : Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) signed an eight-bill package aimed at addressing longstanding racial inequalities in the state criminal justice system. The bills are a part of the larger agenda Democrats...

AL Enacts Law Restricting COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed into law a bill ( SB 9 b ) requiring employers in the state to exempt from COVID-19 vaccination requirements “any employee who has completed and submitted...

OK High Court Reverses J&J Opioid Ruling: In a 5-1 ruling, the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s $465 million judgement against Johnson & Johnson, maintaining that the drugmaker violated the state's public nuisance...

Business The Wisconsin Senate approves SB 298 , a bill that would bar the Wolverine State from making rules against dogs entering businesses that sell pre-packaged food while still allowing pups to be banned from businesses that sell cooked food. It...

NM Gov Demands New Film Safety Protocols : In the wake of a tragic accidental shooting on the set of a movie being filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Hollywood needs to adopt strict new safety protocols to protect workers...

TN Lawmakers Target COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates: By the start of Tennessee’s special session on coronavirus legislation last week, nearly 100 bills had been filed. But the ones most likely to be passed are those sponsored by House Speaker Cameron...